Are you wondering why we chose ‘WE’ to title the world’s most inclusive style of English?
It’s simple, really. Our world is becoming more inclusive every day. The internet can gather us together in ways never before imaginable; we can know others around the world almost instantly. In fact, I believe we now have a ‘WE’ World. That’s why it’s so critical to give English an upgrade! Since English is now our world’s most commonly spoken language, don’t you think it’s time for it to reflect that inclusive world–a world that includes all, regardless of sex, gender, culture, or any other aspect. Do you agree?
‘WE’ draws us together and our world can surely use more of that, can’t it? WFW believes
that each person is individually unique and yet, coming together is powerful and necessary.
WEquality is what we’re after, isn’t it? Think of the years those of us who aren’t men have
spent fighting for the right to be treated as equals. It’s been a long, hard road, and we’re still not there. Our Declaration of Independence starts with those famous words, ‘WE the people’, which appears to include everyone. However, right after that it declares that all ‘men’ are created equal.
What ‘men’ means in that context has been debated ever since.
But we are lightyears beyond those words; and while we can suppose any variety of interpretations, we know that equality should be applied to all people. The word ‘MEN’ should be replaced with ‘men and wimin’ rather than using it as a (possibly intended) catch-all word for everyone. It’s time for our language to catch up with our culture and it’s very easy to do. ‘WE’ is a great word to bring a group together; hence, WEnglish for WEquality.
One aspect that ‘we the people’ haven’t paid enough attention to is how our language affects us. If you’re following our blogs, you’ve seen how English thrives on ‘man’ words. It occurs to us that it’s past time to acknowledge that ‘we the people’ include both sexes, myriads of genders, nationalities, cultures, and beliefs. And most importantly, that our words should clearly reflect that truth.
*NOTE: WEnglish focuses on two sexes, commonly known as men and women (wimin in WEnglish). Its singular purpose is to assure that both sexes are equally represented in our language. English remains a highly masculine language in spite of all our efforts to recognize non-men as equals. WEnglish equalizes words in order to create what it calls ‘WEquality’.
If we want equality, it’s time to think WE!
Yours for WEnglish for WEquality!
Vivian Probst
Next blog: What is equality? How will we know if and when we’ve arrived? You might be amazed by the markers that a lot of us miss!